BUS 402

PUBLIC RELATIONS
LECTURE

INTERNAL RELATIONS AND EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION

CHAPTER 9

SELECTED MATERIALS

Lecturer
Dr. Amal Aly, Ph .D
 LEARNING OUTCOMES

Learning Outcomes
After studying Chapter 9, your students should be able to:
1. Define internal and employee communication as a part of the
public relations function, using the basic elements of the definition
of public relations.
2. Argue convincingly for the importance of the internal relations
function.
3.Discuss the impact of organizational culture on internal
communication.
 LEARNING OUTCOMES

Learning Outcomes
4.Apply systems theory to internal relations.
5.Discuss some of the regulatory and business contexts for
internal relations.
6.Explain the major purposes of employee communication.
• 7.Describe non-mediated and mediated means of
communicating with internal publics
 Major Concepts and Elements
• The coordination and mediation necessary for dealing with
employees put public relations staff with communication knowledge
and skills in a central role in managing internal relations.
• As a part of the larger public relations function, the goal of internal
relations and employee
• Communication is to establish and maintain mutually beneficial
relationships between an organization and the employees on
whom its success or failure depends. Employees are an
organization’s greatest resource.
• As a result, the employee communication function must
address:
1) the value of understanding, teamwork, and commitment by
employees in achieving bottom -
line results, and
2) the need to build a strong manager communication network
that makes every supervisor at every level accountable for
 CULTURAL CONTEXTS
• Understanding the internal communication of any organization
requires analysis of the culture of that organization
• The culture of an organization is what defines it as different from
other organizations, as it defines the values, beliefs, assumptions,
and expectations that guide both managers and employees in their
effort to achieve the organization’s mission.
 CULTURAL CONTEXTS
• The culture of an organization is often what defines it as different
from other organizations, and—if managed properly—can be a
valuable asset in building cohesion and teamwork inside the
organization, resulting in organizational effectiveness—reaching its
goals.
• Organizational culture affects internal communication, and it is often
created by the members of the dominant coalition. 64
 APPLYING SYSTEMS THEORY TO INTERNAL
RELATIONS
• Organizations can function as closed or open systems.
• Closed systems do not receive input from the
environment and thus are less likely to adapt to
environmental change pressures. Organizations that
function as closed systems tend to have an asymmetrical
worldview, meaning that its goal is to get what it wants
without having to change the way it does business.
 APPLYING SYSTEMS THEORY TO INTERNAL
RELATIONS

• The asymmetrical worldview held by a closed organization

tends to produce an authoritarian organizational culture. In
this kind of organizational culture, communication is
structured and formalized, decision -making is centralized,
and employees experience high division of labor, with
independent organizational departments. Input from
employees is not sought or valued.
 APPLYING SYSTEMS THEORY TO INTERNAL
RELATIONS

• On the other hand, open systems seek feedback and input

from its environment, which enables it to adapt to
environmental change pressures and enhance its likelihood
to survive. Organizations that function as open systems tend
to have a symmetrical worldview, meaning that the
organization incorporates negotiation, conflict resolution,
and compromise in dealing with its publics.
 APPLYING SYSTEMS THEORY TO INTERNAL
RELATIONS

• On the other hand, open systems seek feedback and input

from its environment, which enables it to adapt to
environmental change pressures and enhance its likelihood
to survive. Organizations that function as open systems tend
to have a symmetrical worldview, meaning that the
organization incorporates negotiation, conflict resolution,
and compromise in dealing with its publics.
 APPLYING SYSTEMS THEORY TO INTERNAL
RELATIONS

• The symmetrical worldview held by an open organization

tends to produce participative organizational cultures, which
value dialogue, teamwork, and innovation. Decision-making
in these organizations is decentralized, and departments
tend to be interdependent.
 REGULATORY AND BUSINESS CONTEXTS

• Employee communication takes place in specific

regulatory and business contexts. These include challenges
related to safety and compliance, labor relations, and
organizational change.
• Employee communication serves three main purposes:
acculturation, information, and listening
 REGULATORY AND BUSINESS CONTEXTS

• Acculturating employees
• means helping them to understand and internalize the
organization’s culture and values. This can be done using
vision statements, mission statements, policy documents,
ethics statements, and training materials.
 REGULATORY AND BUSINESS CONTEXTS

Acculturating employees
• means helping them to understand and internalize the
organization’s culture and values. This can be done using
vision statements, mission statements, policy documents,
ethics statements, and training materials.
 REGULATORY AND BUSINESS CONTEXTS

To inform employees about organizational developments,

happenings, and news, public relations practitioners can use
different both non-mediated and mediated communication
tools.
 REGULATORY AND BUSINESS CONTEXTS

To inform employees
• Non-mediated communication channels include the
grapevine and in-person meetings.
• Mediated communication channels include
teleconferences and videoconferences; employee
publications; inserts and enclosures; published speeches,
position papers, and backgrounders; bulletin boards;
intranets; hotlines; email; and new media.
 REGULATORY AND BUSINESS CONTEXTS

• Listening is a form of organizational research

• When organizational culture is participative, employees are
given opportunities to communicate their questions and
concerns to the management.
• Organizations can listen to employees using any of the non-
mediated or mediated channels.
•
 CONNECTING EMPLOYEES
• Internal relations must go beyond employer-to-employee
communication, and even beyond employee-to-employer
communication.
• Internal relations is also about connecting employees to each
other. Traditionally, such activities as company picnics or
family days brought employees together to connect socially,
away from work duties.
 CONNECTING EMPLOYEES
• In a more modern twist, IBM nurtured its corporate culture
using an internal social networking site that functioned like
Facebook but was only accessible to employees. Called
BluePages, this tool was accessed 6 million times each day by
IBM employees around the world, facilitating employee
connections and collaborations. With increasing numbers of
Millennials entering the workforce, these online tools for
connecting employees is one way for employers to attract and
keep young talent.